Brake shoe



March 7, 1939. F. T. BIRCH 2,149,952

BRAKE SHOE Filed Dec. 17, 1937 2 Sheefis-Sheet l ATTY.

. March 7 1 RAKE E Filed Dec, 17 1937 2 sheetsl s eet I I Z Z a x m Patented Mar. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRAKE SHOE Frank T. Birch, Mimico, Ontario, Canada Application December 17, 1937, Serial No. 180,353

8 Claims.

The invention relates in particular to railway brake shoes for freight cars and has for its object to provide an improved connecting structure between the brake beam head and the shoe whereby the life of the shoe is prolonged and a more sturdy connection is afforded that will resist wear and tear.

In accordance with this invention the lugs on the shoe are provided with additional contact surfaces that engage the lugs on the head to aid in resisting wear so as to thus preclude excessive wear on the toes which frequently results in an end of the shoe breaking off.

A distinctive feature of the invention resides in the novel construction and arrangement of the reinforcement of the shoe by which it is enabled to withstand shocks and jars to which brake shoes are subjected in service.

A still further feature is presented in that the brake shoe is reversible and adapted for connection with the standard head by means of the usual key.

Having recounted the objects and nature of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings for a better understanding of the improved features.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the brake shoe connected to the standard head by means of the usual key.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the shoe showing the key in full and giving a fragmentary outline of the head in dash lines.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the shoe viewed from its rear face. V

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the shoe taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a similar section taken on line 55 of said Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the shoe.

Figure 7 is an assembly View of the reinforcing structure.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the back plate that forms part of the reinforcing structure.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary detail illustrating a slight modification of the reinforcing structure.

Like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each figure of the drawings.

In the drawings, the brake beam head is generally denoted by the numeral l0 and is of conventional character having upper and lower pairs of toes H and [2, between which is disposed the usual pair of spaced centre lugs l3 and I4, there being one lug at each side of the centre hole I5. The inner faces 11 and [8 of the lugs provide contact surfaces, and the space therebetween l9 and 20 provide similar contact surfaces.

tween each pair of toes and the adjacent lug is a transverse recess as at 2|.

The upper recess merges into the hanger hole 22. It will be understood that the lugs are apertured usual curved key 23.

to take the The brake shoe is substantially of standard shape, as shown, and is complementary to the head to which it is attachable by the key as customary. The shoe is a cast iron body with steel reinforcements, and it is generally denoted by the numeral 24. The brake face of the arouate body is denoted at 25, and the usual T-shaped bosses at the ends of the back are indicated at 26, which bosses respectively engage the aforesaid pairs of toes II and I2 to retain the shoe in longitudinal alignment with the head.

As an improvement over the back plates heretofore proposed, the plate 2'! herein illustrated in conformity with the present invention has a central aperture 28 and an aperture at each end thereof as at 29 and 30; which apertures are in lengthwise alignment and co-operate with steel lug-straps as will later be explained in detail. The plate is curved to conform to the back of the shoe and terminates short of its ends.

Its

width is less than that of the body 24 and the apertures aforesaid consist of slots of which the two extreme ones may extend to the ends of the plate or terminate short thereof. The plate is mouldably embeddedin the body as will be well understood in the art.

area capable of resisting wear and tear.

The

reinforcing strap and its manner of application is later described in detail. This web has its opposite side faces flush with the side faces 33 and 34 of the centre lugs.

This connecting web not only provides a rein= forced contact surface for bearing against the key but also its side faces considerably augment the respective side faces 33 and 34 of the lugs in their contact with the inner faces I! and N3 of the head-lugs l3 and I4.

These additional bearing surfaces are most important in that they prolong the life of the shoe.

In conjunction with the web, the reinforcing lug strap is interfitted with the back plate. ,This strap is shown at 35 and consists of a rectangular band encompassing the back plate so that its transverse lower extent 36 lies beneath the plate and its transverse upper extent 3! extends above the web in spaced relation to define a keyway. Said lower extent is deformed to provide an intermediate U-shaped part 38 upwardly extending through the slot or central aperture 28 of the plate, as clearly shown in Figure '7. upper face of the U-shaped part is flush with the top face of the web, as will best be seen from an inspection of Figures 2 and 4. The strap is mouldably embedded in the body, centre lugs and the web. It not only serves to interlock these parts, but also furnishes a keyway with steel contact faces on both sides of the key. From an inspection of Figure 2, it will be observed that the top face of said U-shaped part 38 virtually covers the top of the cross web 32 to provide the steel bearing area for contact with one side of the key, i. e., the lower side, while the part 31 provides a steel contact surface for the other side thereof.

Acting in conjunction with the centre lug structure there is provided additional pairs of upper and lower lugs of a similar construction. These additional lugs fit in the respective recesses 2|. The upper pair is denoted at 39 while the lower pair is denoted at '40, both of which pairs provide inner contact faces 4| engaged with the respective 'outer'faces I9 and'Zll of the head-lugs l3 and I4 aforesaid.

Each pair of lugs 39 and 40 is spaced and the complemental lugs 'of the respective pairs are joined by an interconnecting web as at 42 having its upper face flush with the underside of the key and its inner side fa'ce'fiush with the respective contact faces 4|. Accordingly, the contact surfaces between the shoe and the head are increased so as to resist wear and tear in service and particularly toprevent such undue play at the ends of the shoe that heretofore has resulted in the breaking off of the ends of the same.

Both the upper and the'lower pairs of lugs are respectively-reinforced by a strap, as at 43, similar to the strap 35 of the centre lugs. The strap 43 encompasses the back plate with its bottom extent 44 underlying the same and having an intermediate U-shaped part 45 that upwardly extends through one of'the outside apertures '29 or 30 of the back plate with its top surface flush with the edge portions of the web. The transverse upper'extent 46 defines a keyway for the key. The keyways of the upper lugs and the lower lugs are of uniform depth so t hat the shoe may be reversed. V

It will be manifest from the preceding descrip- 'tion taken in conjunction with the drawings,

that a highly efiicient brakeshoe is provided in accordance with the present invention,and one in which the lug structures co-operate not only insus'ta'ining the weight'of the shoe on. the head with the attendant strain in the application of the brakes, but also in affording maximum contact surfaces between the lugs of the shoeand those of the head.

"lheonly'dii'frence in the lug structure shown in the variant form of Figure 9'is that insteadv of V thebottom extent 4'! of the rectangular lug strap 48 having a U-shapedintermediate part, it is The ' ment for interfitting contact with the lugs of the supplied with upturned ears 49 terminating at the upper face of the web 50 and having their outer faces flush with the side faces of the lugs indicated at 5|. The ears project upwardly through the apertured back plate.

I claim:

1. A brake shoe for a head having transverse lugs longitudinally spaced and apertured receptive to a key, said shoe comprising a cast metal body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the back thereof and provided with an aperture, a pair of complemental lugs integral with the back of the body in spaced transverse alignhead, a web integral with the back of the body and inter-connecting the spaced lugs thereof, said web terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the lugs; and a substantially rectangular strap mouldably embedded in the body and the spaced lugs thereof and encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said strap having a bottom part beneath the plate with a deformed portion upwardly extending through the aperture therein and. embedded in the web,said strap also havinga top part extending between the lugs above the web and defining a keyway with the upper face of the web receptive to the key of the lugs of the head.

2. A brake shoe for a head having transverse lugs longitudinally spaced and apertured recep tive to a key, said shoe comprising a cast metal body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the back thereof and provided "with an aperture, a pair of complemental lugs integral with the back of the body in spaced transverse alignment for interfitting contact with the lugs of V the head, said pair of complemental lugs having opposite side faces 'presentingcontact surfaces, a web integral with the back of the body and connecting the spaced complemental lugs thereof, said web terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the lugs and having side faces flush with the said side faces of the lugs to augment the contact surfaces presented thereby, and a substantially rectangular strap mouldably embedded in the body and the spaced lugs thereof and encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said-strap having having a bottom part beneath the plate with a deformed portion upwardly extending through the aperture therein and embedded in the web, said strap also having a top part extending between the lugs above the web body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the backthereof and provided with an aperture, a pair of complemental lugs integral with the back of the body in spaced transverse alignment for interfitting contact with the lugs of the head, a web integral with the back of the body and inter-connecting the spaced lugs thereof, said web terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the lugs, and a substantially rectangular strap mouldably embedded. in the body and the spaced lugs thereof and encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said strap having a bottom part beneath the plate with a U-shaped deformed 'portion'upwardly extending through the aperture therein into said web'with a top face flush with the aforesaid upper face thereof, said strap also having a top part extending between the lugs above the web to form a keyway essentially with said top face of said U-shaped deformed portion, said keyway being receptive to the key of the lugs of the head.

4. A brake shoe for a head having transverse lugs longitudinally spaced and apertured receptive to a key, said shoe comprising a cast metal body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the back thereof and provided with an aperture, a pair of complemental lugs integral with the back of the body in spaced transverse alignment for interfitting contact with the lugs of the head, a web integral with the back of the body and inter-connecting the spaced lugs thereof, said web terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the lugs, and a substantially rectangular strap mouldably embedded in the body and the spaced lugs thereof and encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said strap having a bottom part beneath the plate with a deformed portion providing upstanding ears extending through the aperture therein into the web with their outer faces flush with the sides of the lugs, said strap also having a top partextending between the lugs above the web and defining a keyway with the upper face of the web receptive to the key of the lugs of the head.

5. A brake shoe for a head having a pair of toes at each end and a pair of transverse centre lugs spaced from each other to provide a groove between them and a recess between each lug and the adjacent pair of end toes, the lugs being apertured to supply aligned keyways receptive to a key, said shoe comprising a cast metal body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the back thereof and provided with longitudinally arranged apertures, three pairs of complementary lugs integral with the back of the body, one pair central for extending in the groove of the head and contacting the inner surfaces of the centre lugs thereof, and two pairs of lugs for extending in the recesses of the head and contacting the respective outer surfaces of the centre lugs, three webs integral with the back of the body, each web interconnecting a pair of lugs thereof and terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the pair of complemental lugs, three substantially rectangular straps mouldably embedded in the body and the lugs thereof, there being one strap interconnecting each pair of lugs, all of said straps encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said straps each having a bottom part beneath the plate with a deformed portion upwardly extending through an aperture therein and embedded in the respective web, each strap also having a top part extending between the respective pair of lugs at a point above the interconnecting web and defining a keyway with the upper face of the web for a key for securing the lugs of the shoe to those of the head.

6. A structure in accordance with claim 5, in which the central pair of lugs have opposite side faces presenting contact surfaces and the web thereof has its side faces flush with the said side faces to augment the contact surfaces presented thereby, and in which the other two pairs of lugs have inner side faces presenting contact surfaces and the webs thereof have their inner side faces flush with the respective inner side faces of said two pairs of lugs to augment the contact surfaces presented thereby.

7. A brake shoe for a head having a pair of toes at each end and a pair of transverse centre lugs spaced from each other to provide a groove between them and a recess between each lug and the adjacent pair of end toes, the lugs being apertured to supply aligned keyways receptive to a key, said shoe comprising a cast metal body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the back thereof and provided with longitudinally arranged apertures, three pairs of complementary lugs integral with the back of the body, one pair central for extending in the groove of the head and contacting the inner surfaces of the centre lugs thereof, and two pairs of lugs for extending in the recesses of the head and contacting the respective outer surfaces of the centre lugs, three webs integral with the back of the body, each web interconnecting a pair of lugs thereof and terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the pair of complemental lugs, three substantially rectangular straps mouldably embedded in the body and the lugs thereof, there being one strap interconnecting each pair of lugs, all of said straps encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said straps each having a bottom part underlying the plate with a U-shaped deformed portion upwardly extending through an aperture therein into the respective Web with a top face flush with the upper face of the web, each strap also having a top part extending between the respective pair of lugs at a point above the interconnecting web to form a keyway essentially with said top face of said U-shaped deformed portion for a key for securing the lugs of the shoe to those of the head.

8. A brake shoe for a head having a pair of toes at each end and a pair of transverse centre lugs spaced from each other to provide a groove between them and a recess between each lug and the adjacent pair of end toes, the lugs being apertured to supply aligned keyways receptive to a key, said shoe comprising a cast metal body, a reinforcing plate mouldably embedded in the back thereof and provided with longitudinally arranged apertures, three pairs of complementary lugs integral with the back of the body, one pair central for extending in the groove of the head and contacting the inner surfaces of the centre lugs thereof, and two pairs of lugs for extending in the recesses of the head and contacting the respective outer surfaces of the centre lugs, three webs integral with the back of the body, each web interconnecting a pair of lugs thereof and terminating in an upper face short of the tops of the pair of complemental lugs, three substantially rectangular straps mouldably embedded in the body and the lugs thereof, there being one strap interconnecting each pair of lugs, all of said straps encompassing the aforesaid reinforcing plate, said straps each having a bottom part underlying the plate with a deformed portion providing upstanding ears extending through an aperture therein with their outer faces flush with the outer faces of respective pair of lugs, each strap also having a top part extending between the respective pair of lugs at a point above the interconnecting web and defining a keyway with the upper face of the web for a key for securing the lugs of the shoe to those of the head.

FRANK T. BIRCH. 

